Spiders In Her Blood
by Rokubi
Summary: Spiders! Gah! Maybe Shepard's irrational fear isn't so irrational after all. Now her crew must race against time to save Shepard from something she never thought she had to fear; herself. ME3 Action/Adventure/Suspense
1. Little Miss Muffet

**Title:** Spiders in Her Blood

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Bioware.

**Beta Reader: **Renting

**Summary:** Spiders! Gah! Maybe Shepard's irrational fear isn't so irrational after all.

Chapter One

Little Miss Muffet

The sunlight is strong as it casts a bright square on the queen-sized bed. The beam of light catches the small particles of otherwise unnoticeable dust and warms the soft covers. It creates a striking contrast to the dim glow of the rest of the cabin. The natural light of the Citadel's star is held at bay by the mellow mood of the room. There is only light around the lone figure on the bed.

She sighs as she basks in the warm rays, her head back with pillows holding her posture and a forgotten data pad held in her loose grip. Her feet drag slowly across the gleaming covers as her knees bend and eyes close, her long legs bare thanks to her dark shorts.

A lazy tongue darts out to glide across dry lips and a flash of white can be seen from between them. With her head lolled back and the straps of her shirt fallen from her shoulders, her neck is bare and open. Inviting.

It takes all of the other occupant's self-control not to accept it.

Strong blue eyes watch as she seemingly falls into a light sleep. Bare hands still at his work and his head falls forward, his gaze turning predatory. His metallic hide glints with each shift in his seat.

_Rest_, his mind reasons_. She needs rest._

Garrus knows Shepard hasn't been sleeping well; dark nightmares haunt her mind, if twisted Prothean visions can be called such. She keeps the details locked up and he doesn't pry for them. It is part of their unspoken agreement: to let each other know when the other is in pain, then comfort without question. Shepard may tell him in time what her nightmares are like, or she may never speak of them out loud. Either way, he will not ask.

Right now, though, he is willing to guess what she will be dreaming of soon. It is the same thing he will refuse to think about when he closes his own eyes: the death of two close comrades back-to-back, and a near fatal standoff with a third.

Mordin and Thane both knew their deaths were over-due—the former from his old age and the latter from his sickness—and they both managed warrior's deaths in the end. Their deaths were honorable. And even if that isn't enough to quiet the anger in his chest, the knowledge that smug bastard Kai Leng is out there somewhere, waiting for him to put a bullet in his head (or have Shepard use her new favorite toy and shove the blade in his face), is comforting. He can let the anger drown the grief. Like always.

It is Kaiden that is the more troubling issue.

Garrus was ready to shoot him today, just like Liara was.

Shepard wasn't. She had talked sense into the biotic, and she is the only reason the male human is still alive.

Alive and preparing to serve on the Normandy, too.

The Shadow Broker was about as happy as he was once Shepard had given them the news. But they had both hidden it under complacent mask. He is sure she knows of his low regard for the man at this point, thanks to his behavior on Horizon and now his gull to pull a gun on Shepard. _Shepard_. Of all people, he had the nerve to draw his gun on the women who saved his ass more times than he could count and who has given him the benefit of the doubt two times too many.

The woman who clearly sees him as a brother, someone she will die for.

And he pulls a _gun _on her.

His actions can be justified. He was defending the Council. He was doing his job, his duty. He was in the right.

Still, Garrus knows if it had been him guarding the Hierarchy and Shepard had bust in calling every one of them a traitor, he would trust her. Not because of his emotional attachment to her, but because she had proven time and time again that she doesn't act without reason. Trusting her is the smartest bet you can make in this fickle galaxy.

While Kaidan's action can be justified by law and duty, there is no honor there.

Garrus hopes the man can redeem himself this time around.

The blue-eyed turian returns to his task, as his thoughts have cleared out his urge to pounce on the dozing women not far from him and have another round.

_Maybe it broke when she tossed it aside?_ he thinks as he pulls off another small panel on his visor. Everything looks intact. No spilt wires, no busted circuit boards. Nothing is bent or fried. Another panel is gently pried loose, this one with an etched in name scratched out, and he sees nothing wrong. _Then why won't you power on?_ A blank blue screen is all he is greeted with. His mandibles grind against his face in frustration before they widen in concentration as he leans in closer. He is missing something: a cut circuit, a burnt wire, something that will account for its defective state. Things just don't break without cause. Especially expensive, state-of-the-art visors that have replacement parts he will have to scour the universe to find.

A startled scream has him on his feet.

His senses sharpen as his eyes snap to Shepard. She has moved onto the floor at the edge of the bed, her body hidden as her head peaks up from the side, her data pad clanking as it hits either the wall or floor from somewhere in the room.

_Protect._ His mind and heart throbs with that one order as he has never seen Shepard hide from anything, never heard her scream other than for him.

But there is no threat he can find. Not in the room or outside the skylight.

Shepard gives a squeak as she clutches the bed. Her big human eyes are wide and round as dinner plates.

His eyes follow hers and it is only from the insanity of this moment that his muscles relax and his talons slack.

"A bug?" His voice is thick with disbelief.

A small, hairy-looking, eight-legged bug is shuffling around on top the bed. It walks in odd bursts of speed as it maneuvers the bumps and valleys of the wrinkled covers.

"Not a bug," Shepard whimpers, "A spider! A freaking spider!" The little creature stills in its random movements, its tiny pincers clicking together, before making a mad dash for Shepard's face. She throws herself back, shuffling away as far as she can. The bug wavers on the edge of the bed, legs feeling out where her face once was. Shepard shudders.

Slowly she stands, her back sliding up the wall, and she turns her bright eyes to him.

"Get it," she whines.

Garrus can only stare with his mouth open. Somehow he manages to ask, "Are … are you scared of that bug?"

Her eyes flash and her jaw tighten. "I'm not _scared_," she says. "And it's an arachnid, not a bug."

"I … unless 'arachnid' is a synonym for 'mini Reaper', I don't think that's important right now." Only Shepard would try and give a lesson right now.

"It should be. Little bastards…" She glares at the spot the bug—arachnid—is, only to panic seeing that it is gone. Her eyes dart around and she looks down. From her panicked shriek he knows it is at her feet. Quickly she jumps onto the couch, walks along it, and hops down until she has looped around behind him. One hand clutches at his bare back and the other at his hip, right at the waistband of his pants. Shepard's bare legs rub together as she dances on her feet. "Agh." Her face is peeking out from the gap between his arm and body.

The oddness of this moment only doubles as he finds himself struck with how _cute_ she is at this moment. That, and he's pretty sure she's finally lost it.

She lets go of his back and points out with her right hand. "It's out to get me." Shepard is still glaring as her hand darts back to hold him.

The little spider is now walking in rapid, unorganized sprints. Garrus finally feels his bewilderment ease and his amusement take hold. He laughs. "Maybe it's a baby rachni out for revenge?"

Shepard pales. "Don't say that. Don't say that because you know very well that shit can happen." He laughs again.

"So," he starts while keeping an eye on the small black target, "is this some weird phobia? Because I have to admit, I'm pretty much stumped on this one."

"No." Again she is glaring up at him like she wasn't just screaming and running from the creature. "I wouldn't _be_ here if I was phobic. I just don't like them."

"Is it the legs?" he wonders with real curiosity.

She shudders. "No."

"The fangs?"

She shudders again. "No."

"The hair?"

"Stop guessing. Sheesh." She narrows her eyes at the spider. "And no, it's none of those. I like tarantulas well enough."

"What's a tarantula?"

"A big spider about the size of my fist."

He head throbs. "But the one the size of your eye has you freaked?" She is making no sense right now.

"It's … it's just so small. Like it can crawl anywhere and you wouldn't know it."

"You're crazy, Shepard."

"I don't _care_. Just get it."

Garrus rolled his eyes before walking over to the spider and raising his shoeless foot.

"No!" Spirits, what now? "Don't kill it! Just pick it up and take it outside."

Slowly he turns to give her a deadpan look. "What?"

"It didn't do anything wrong," she says, a bit sheepish. "We can't kill it."

"Crazy as hell," he mumbles as he scoops up the small spider. It panics and process to scurry around his palm, causing him to use both hands to keep it from escaping. Shepard jumps as he approaches her with his hands outstretched.

Her eyes dart to his and she sees he is not teasing her. "Shepard," he calls her gentler than he means to. "It's not going bite."

"Fine," she whispers as her steady hand presses next to his. It takes only a second for the spider to rush off across the new space. She grimaces as it crawls across her skin.

"It's not too bad," she mumbles with a small tremor. Her hand is now turned palm up and the little spider starts up her arm. Shepard clenches her teeth as her other hand blocks its path. "No you don't you—" It stops far before her hand, above the bright blue streak under her skin, and it bites down. "Fucker!"

Shepard's hand slams down and kills it. Garrus snorts and says, "Guess I have to take that back."

" … Garrus … " It is the softness in her voice and the draw of her brow that kills his amusement. If she is worried about it being poisonous, her skin is thick enough to stop its small fangs.

"I think I might be in trouble here …" Her hand is moving as she speaks, lifting to show the shattered body.

Only instead of small bits of blood and flesh, they see the gleam of metal and wire. And where the bite should have been stopped, there are two tiny holes and drops of vivid red blood—

Her skin is turning black.

Shepard looks up to him, only her head does not stop there. It keeps going as her eyes roll back and her body starts to crumbles.

"Shepard!" he calls out as he catch her, careful to hold her wrist steady as the body of the robotic spider will be need in some form later. He eases her into his arms and darts for the door.

Behind him, as the door shuts, his visor flares to life.

* * *

Ice. There is ice in her blood, chilling her and numbing her mind with each dull pulse of her heart. Her eyelids are too heavy to open, her limbs are like brick, and her tongue is too thick in her mouth. Pain, there is pain too. It flares with each heartbeat and jolts her mind into clarity, overwhelming her senses before they are frozen over by the bitter ice again. In these moments she can feel him around her, his body hot and solid and hands clutching her. She can hear him calling her name—_Shepard. Stay with me, Shepard.—_and his own fury at himself —_Spirits, I didn't mean for this—_before she is covered in ice.

A thick layer covers her now.

She is aware of her body. How it is unresponsive and cold. It is a shell around her, trapping her in a dark box as echoes of the world beyond her walls tease her. They mock her with another lonely death, even though she knows she is in her lover's arms.

But that is worse, to die in his arms. To see her body broken and helpless.

The ice in her blood grows jagged as it flows through her. It rips her veins apart from the inside out and makes a brutal path to her heart.

The machine in her is powering down. The warmth and vibration she has become complacent to halts to a stop. Cluster after cluster of cybernetics fail and is noted with a decrease in feeling along her arm. Wrist, hand, fingers, forearm, elbow …

She can still hear him calling her, urging her to stay strong even though he doesn't know if she can hear him.

The ice is still crawling a relentless path towards her half robotic heart, and she knows it will stop once it arrives. Time is now measurable in minutes. And unlike last time she is not able to waste it in a fruitless struggle. Not with her body failing and her voice muted. Did she scream last time? No, she did not. How could she with no air in her lungs?

What were her final thoughts last time? They were of her crew and their safety. At her failed mission and how it was almost poetic she was going down with her once beautiful ship. She had been furious that her death was from a cheap shot and that she would never be able to repay the mystery assailant. Yet there was desperation and hope, because if she plugged the hole and stayed calm, all she had to do was wait for her crew. Because she had saved them so many times and this was the moment they repaid it all back—

Fire, horror, understanding—but not acceptance. Never acceptance.

Now it is ice, not fire; a limp body and calm mind compared to a flailing panicked one.

His voice is in her ear—not the heavy pressure and quiet of space—telling her it will be okay.

She does not believe him, of course. If she lives, it will be by skill, not hope. But she knows he will try his hardest to save her, knows even if she dies for good, he is ready to take her place in this war. She has been grooming him to for so long because this was a life he _wanted_. To become a protector, a savoir, to give his life in the heat of battle while she had stumbled into this role, breaking to pieces while he grows stronger with each passing day.

Mentor and student. Human and turian.

She had been the one to blur the lines. She had sought him out.

And she does not regret it. Not one moment. Not their fights, their anger, their laugher, their joy.

Her regret.

This time at Death's door she _does_ find something to regret, because she has something beautiful to lose. For so long she has held herself back from him, only giving enough so he will stay yet not enough to make him fight if she wants him to leave. She has be keeping him in limbo, ready to cast him aside at a moment's notice if he turns out to be the wrong choice for her. If she is the wrong choice for him.

Is it fear that fuels her hesitation? Is she afraid that she will leave him broken again if—when—she dies, but is too weak to stay away from him? Last time she left him, she did so as a teacher and friend, and now? Now she has shared his pain, his hopes, his bed and embrace.

She knows how he feels about her. It is in his voice when he greets her, in his eyes as he watches her, in his grip as he holds her. He has been holding _it_ back for her sake, not voicing it and letting his feelings rule him. She knows he will leave her if she asks. No fight, no struggle, just sad acceptance as long as it's what she wants.

She can picture him: shoulders stiff, head bowed, eyes lost, mouth moving with his harmonics raw. His broad back to her as he walks away, ready to come to her still at a moment's notice.

_No._ Not like this. She will not become another burden for him to shoulder. Her duty to the galaxy will not be his.

She will not be another ghost to dance behind his closed eyes.

… _Shepard …_

Her eyes snap open.


	2. Wash the Spider Out

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Bioware.

**Beta Reader: **Marie-Fanwriter

**Important to Note: **Fabricators are used to make things like omi-blades (which are also partially holographic).

* * *

Chapter Two

Wash the Spider Out

"EDI!" Garrus calls as the door to Shepard's cabin closes behind him. "Unlock the elevator's speed limiters and tell Chakwas to meet me in the med-bay." The elevator door closes and his voice resounds off the cool metal walls. "Shepard," he says firmly, demanding her attention. "Stay with me, Shepard." Her breathing is shallow and the fluttering pulse at her neck tells him her heartbeat is erratic. Without his visor he can only guess at how stable she is.

The elevator gives a hard jerk, causing his hold on Shepard to tighten. "Done," EDI replies as the metal box begins to quickly drop. "What has happen to Shepard?" The cold voice is laced with something he can easily place, only because he is feeling it too. "My scans are showing a rapid decrease in her cybernetics' functionality."

He doesn't realize he is banking on EDI already being informed of the basics of the situation until that option is gone. "You didn't see?" Against his will his eyes fall down the cold hand in his grip; black leaky lines are lacing their way up her arm. Already the dark webbing has tread across her small hand and ends at her fingertips.

"Shepard has disconnected all visuals sensors in the room. Still, my scans of the room should have picked up any anomalies. All my reports are green." Light traces of confusion and worry are in her voice and Garrus fights to keep them from his. Facts are what are needed right now.

"It was some kind of mechanical spider. She was af- I didn't - Spirits, I didn't mean for this-" He draws a deep breath. The woman in his arms needs him to keep it together. "Can you scan it?" He holds her hand up in the air, hoping it will save sometime.

"There is nothing there." The elevator jerks to a stop and Garrus sprints out. "Nothing is showing up on any of my scans." The VI's voice is chipped and strained. "I… I do not understand. My mobile platform is en route. With its updated protocols it may be possible for it to pick up the inference and disable it."

The med-bay doors are open and a hard-face Dr. Chakwas was waiting for him. "Tell me what happened," she drills as Garrus lays Shepard the nearest metal bed. The doctor spots the shattered metal bug surrounded by patches of black.

"It bit her and she passed out." What more can he say? Other than _I made her touch it. _"EDI says her implants are failing. It can't be just poison." He reasons as holds her hand up. Chakwas nods and she reaches for a small silver tray.

"Put it in here…." Carefully he sweeps the pieces in the tray. Somehow the back end of the bug has survived complete destruction and it rolls noisily around in the tray. Chakwas is now pointing to some device near the med-bay door as she activates the restraints around Shepard's arm. That seems like at useless action to him -as Shepard has been unnervingly still since bitten- but if, _when_, she does wake up it might be needed. "…And run it through the scanner." Her voice is even with years of experience. Lose control and people die in her work- and in his- so he turns to his task. "EDI, help Vakarian with-"

"I am sorry, but it is jamming my sensors. I am unable to assist without step-by-step feedback from Officer Vakarian."

Now Chakwas pales. Her eyes close and her mouth pinches in the corners. "You picked a bad time to check out, friend." Garrus knows she speaks of Mordin; someone who knows how to work medical equipment without needing an AI to hold their hand. As Garrus knew calibrating the Thanix Cannon didn't translate well to other skills. Chakwas eyes open and there is fire burning in their depths. "I'm doing this blind then." Like a whirlwind she is everywhere at once and Garrus tries his best at his task.

Only the moment he hits the controls he is met with no response.

"Please tell me you have to plug this thing in?" A wave of black darts past his eyes as his heart hammers in his chest. The spider's corpse shines up at him with cold indifference and Garrus finds himself trying to mimic it. To draw on the cop drilled into him that is muttering 'keep cool and do your best, it's all you can give, all they can ask.' Archangel is there too, muttering darker things, but he's no good right now.

Chakwas only gives an understanding grunt as she flutters around Shepard.

"It is being jammed as well," EDI says unnecessarily, but being useless is not something she is accustomed to.

"Get it out of here then," the doctor orders, "No need to let it tamper with anything else." She is drawing blood and he doesn't know what to make of its murky red state.

The temptation to hurl the tray out of to room, so Shepard doesn't leave his sight, is there but he forces himself to hurry out and sit it on the mess table.

"What has transpired?" The heavy voice in his ear startles him. Javik is standing with his arms crossed, all four golden eyes watching Chawas work through the glass. He is in full armor and it's only when his eyes move to regard him that Garrus remember his half-dressed state. Again, he has to actively control his sub-harmonics as a harsh, bitter whine tries to break free.

"This," he holds the tray out to the prothean and Javik takes it with a raise of a brow, "Bit her. EDI can fill you in on the rest." Garrus quickly returned to the room and to Shepard's side. Chakwas has taken the blood to the scanner leaving Shepard unattended for the moment. He knows that she can only do so much without knowing what the toxin is, but his worry only increases with each second she is away.

"Shepard." He calls as his hand covers her good one, free of tubes and blood. "Shepard I'm… you'll pull through this." His thumb rubs the back of her hand. "I've seen you jump on the back of a brute and _ride_ it. _This_ is nothing right now." What is taking Chakwas so long? "So stay strong." The whine in his throat breaks free as he bows his head. "…Shepard…"

Can't she ever catch a break? Is it so much to ask for one day? One day with no worry, fighting, or bloodshed? Just them together? Today was supposed to be that. While the crew is shore leave for the day, rummaging through the battered Citadel, it was going to be just them enjoying each other's company; distracting each other from the less than enjoyable recent chain of events.

And now…

Spirits, what on Palaven taking Chakwas so long?

The black webbing has stopped its advancement along Shepard's arm. A long clean cut now splits it open as both medical tubes and thin wires are jammed into her. The angry red of her muscles are dotted with the cold steel of her implants, and he can see were the taint has corrupted her. The faint red-orange glow, once muted by skin and dulled by her good nature, is gone. The hum of the small machines, that is as familiar as her heart-beat, is almost too soft for his ears to catch. Her organic parts are suffering just as much and Garrus has to force himself to look away as the sight of her unnervingly pale skin is burning with overwhelming clarity.

He looks at her face and his heart leaps to his throat at the sight of her open eyes.

He calls her name as both a sign of some relief and as an alert to Chakwas. Shepard's eyes are strong as they hold his; as they flicker with something he cannot place in his own dismayed state.

Then she starts to struggle as panic floods her face.

"Commander!" Chakwas is pushing Garrus aside while pressing down on the younger woman's shoulders. She calls Shepard again by her given name and that cause her to still for a moment. "You must stay calm. I've turned off all of your non-vital cybernetics to slow the virus down. That's why it's difficult for you to move."

"You did what?" He asks, but the doctor does not stop talking to Shepard.

"There were two types of toxins in the spider's bite. One caused you to black-out and weakened your body. I'm administering treatment for it. The other… I can't make sense of it. It's attacking your implants and is using your cybernetics as a path." Chakwas voice softened. "I'm going to put you under."

Shepard's eyes flash as her head jerks to the side in an effort to shake her head 'no'. Her mouth flops open. "Karin." Chakwas is readying a syringe. "Awake… let me… stay…" While her body is slow to respond her eyes are clear and he knows her mind hasn't been affected. He's not sure if the idea of her remembering every moment of this is good, but the alternative of her being dazed is worse.

"Dear one, this is for the best." Her hand runs through Shepard's hair and it's from that gesture that lets Garrus read the old doctor. Lets him know that Shepard might not wake up again once she is put under.

Shepard is lucid enough to read it too and her eyes find his again. "Garrus," she mumbles as her fingers flex in a search for his. He carefully slips his hand to hers as Chakwas is sticking the needle in with practices ease. "I need to tell… you… you don't worry…" Her grip is weak and her eyes flutter close. "I kickass… remember?" He chokes on a bitter laugh. "Garrus." His name is so sweet on her lips. Her eyes open again as she is smiling at him with that look he still cannot place.

_I love you_. His harmonics cry as he is unable to speak them. He will not give her a death bed confession. What he feels for her will not be overshadowed by this awful moment. He will not let urgency force the words from him. She deserves more than a few stolen seconds and he will give them to her one day.

Her eyes close and they do not open again.

His brain doesn't have time to fully process it all as the doors to the med-bay slide open.

"Shepard!"

Garrus doesn't entirely know why but he concedes his spot to the new comer. Alenko is pressing his way in between him and Chakwas, his eyes wide as he scans Shepard's prone form. His hands reach out for hers and his grip turns his knuckles white. It's when his body bumps Chakwas a second time that the doctor acts.

"Major, control yourself!"

Alenko looks chastised as he nods and asks, "What happened?"

"Please, I must ask both of you to leave for the moment. I will be out to explain when I can."

Garrus blames Kaidan for being kicked suddenly from the room, but he was in the way at this point and Shepard is not waking anytime soon. So he leaves without another glance at his lover, hoping to hold onto the sight of her strong eyes a bit longer. Kaidan puts up a weak protest but Chakwas is having none of it as she near shoves him out the room.

The shine of EDI's body draws his attention to his right. She is standing with her hands out stretched over the metal tray on a mess table. Her fabricator has constructed a scanning orb around the tray and is covering her face with its hard orange light. Joker is standing off to the side next to Javik, probably the closest he's ever been to the prothean. And while Javik is now watching EDI work, Joker is looking through the med-bay window.

The look on his face is the same as the one from when Shepard had returned from visiting Kaidan and Thane in the hospital only to give Jeff some very much unexpected news of his sister. The look of loss only served to spark a fire in Garrus. _She's not gone yet._

The doctor hits the shutters and closes the view before Garrus catches sight of her.

"EDI," Garrus calls as he closes the distance between him and the bot. "What are you picking up?"

"It is admitting a small distortion field-"

Alenko closes in on EDI's other side. "And what is 'it'?" He is set on getting answers and Garrus can't blame him. There are just not many to give at the moment.

"It's a synthetic organism. Most of its body has been destroyed, but from the shape and coloring of the intact thorax I can identify it as a spider, Phidippus audax-"

"Enough, AI, that is irrelevant," Javik sneers. "Tells us something useful or move aside."

"Because _you're_ going to scan it?" Joker mocks. "Last time I checked you could barely work a _door_."

"The Commander is dying and your damn AI is-"

This time Alenko interrupts. "Shepard isn't dying-"

"Not if you all shut up," Garrus growls and nods at EDI to continue.

"The field jams all nearby systems causing a redundant playback in more advance systems and the temporary shutdown in simpler ones."

"Why not shut down everything?" The Spectre asks with a frown.

"Or set everything on a loop?" Joker scratches his chin.

Garrus thinks back to his broken visor. A small distraction while EDI was blind. "It would have been too obvious." Garrus nods to himself as thinks out loud. "If everything was offline then we would have been at full alert. And if everything was jammed then I would have known something was wrong when my visor didn't pick 'it' up in Shepard's room."

"Even now my ocular sensors are having trouble maintaining a feed." EDI says as her eyes flash behind her orange visor.

"You were in Shepard's room?" Alenko's frown deepens as he looks over Garrus and his eyes glance back at the closed shutters. _And you let this happen?_ Garrus can hear the accusation in his tone, but can't think of an excuse as he finds he agrees more than he likes. But before his lack of response can be noticed there is a sharp snapping noise from the med-bay and a hard thud.

The orange vanishes from EDI's hands and her head snaps up. Her voice echoes as both her platform and ship speakers call out at the same moment. "Emergency in med-bay." A chill fills his body as his joints lock and eyes widen.

Garrus' wonders _how_ anything got past them as he hears another louder thump and doors flashes red as it locks. Stopping him and his crew mates from entering as EDI says, "Containment protocols in progress."

"EDI unlock the door!" Alenko hurries over and presses the code to bypass the lock. Only it flickers off, locking them out without an active panel to access. "Shepard-"

"Is being contained." EDI's voice does not waver as they turn to her. There is a rhythmic pounding on the door but no yelling or sound beyond that.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Garrus brings himself to full height as he debates his next course of action. Is EDI compromised? It is possible the bug uploaded some virus to her without her knowledge. "If Shepard is up and she wants out, then _unlock the door_."

EDI points to the steel blinds as she shakes her head in a too human way.

The shutters creak open and the banging finally stops. Through the slowly widening gap a pair of legs moves opposite of the window. The familiarity of them easies some of the tension in Garrus, but the awkward gait renews it full force. Blood is dripping down a pale hand and dots clothes and skin alike. The shutter slides higher and reveals the face of their commander.

Only it's not _their _commander. Not anymore.

* * *

Next Chapter!

She Swallowed the Spider to Catch the Fly


	3. She Swallowed the Spider

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Bioware.

Beta Reader: Marie-Fanwriter

* * *

Chapter Three

She Swallowed the Spider to Catch the Fly

It's her eyes.

The black webbing now covers her body, from her head to her toes. But the lines are thinner, faint enough not to be noticed from a distance, but still contrasts her pale skin once noticed. The slice on her arm is healing at an alarming speed, sewing itself together in front of their eyes and glowing with cybernetics. A few bruises are visible from where the restraints had held her down, but even those are fading before they have had a chance to fully form.

Shepard's mouth is slightly parted as her even breathes expand her crumbled shirt and she stares out at the group beyond the window.

It's her eyes.

When Garrus had first seen her on Omega, and looked into her eyes, he was caught off guard from the red lights shining back at him. At the robotic eyes that both were and weren't hers. Right color around the edge of the red lights and the right shape and size, but to cold and fake; he was sure he had died and demon had come for him in her skin.

Then she smiled. Lips pulling her too tight skin like it were the first time she ever smiled and crinkled the edges of her hollow eyes. And the light faded, not by much, but it faded. She knew his name and was just _so damn happy_. If she was a fake, a dream, then she would look the same, act the same, and not show him a whole new side of her that fit her so well. He had though she was happy back on the SR-1 but, seeing her fling her arms wide and smile, he realized he never even brushed the surface with her. That he mourned a woman, a friend, that he barely knew and he was going to change that.

The red light was gone not long after he joined the SR-2, so now the sight of it makes his stomach drop. The color of her eyes is hidden behind the angry red glare. Her face is empty and eyes wide as she stares.

"Commander?" Joker finds his voice first. He looks back at the AI. "EDI, what's going on?"

"I do not know," EDI tone is regretful as she talks. "But my scans show her brain actively has not increased. It appears she is still unconscious."

_Sleep walking?_ She's never done it before, so why now? It has to be the influence of the toxin in her system, but to what degree?

Jeff looks back at Shepard and his breath hitches. "Where's the Doc!" He hurries to the glass and looks down at the floor. Garrus can't bring himself to look away from Shepard's eyes, even as Joker makes another panicked noise. "Shit, is she-?"

"No," EDI quickly says. "Shepard just knocked her unconscious."

"Shepard?" Alenko questions as Garrus finally pulls his gaze from the woman in the med-bay and focuses them on EDI. A solid body collides with him as he does so.

"Get down!" Javik is pushing both him and Kaidan to the side as EDI grabs Jeff. Garrus looks back to the spot Shepard is in only to find it empty. He makes out her coiled form against a metal surface just as she launches herself at the window. The shutters are too slow to stop her as she smashes through the glass. She lands hard as she slides across the glass covered floor; traces of red marking her progress.

"Shepard!" Garrus is on his feet in time with her. "Wake up!" He snaps. He is not sure what is happening but he knows her waking up is the only way to end this without hurting her. Can he hurt her? He's bigger, faster, stronger, and has his full senses, while she is still moving with awkward twitches and jolts. So he _can_ in theory.

Just in theory.

The others, minus Joker, are moving to surround her. Each moving slowly and carefully as the commander scans the room with a sweep of her head. Her eyes catch on EDI on her second sweep of the room and the bot takes the chance to move closer.

"Commander Shepard," EDI raises her hand to mimic the same way Kaidan has been walking with his palms out. "It is advised to contain a person under sleep distress when they are a threat to themselves and others."

Joker grits out in a stage-whisper, "How do you knock out someone who's already knocked out?"

"We may have to tie her down," Javik says as his biotics begin to glow.

"No," Garrus glares at him. "No one is tying her down."

"There has to be a way to wake her up?" Kaidan also glared at the prothean.

Shepard lunges at EDI. The AI brings her arms up, ready to take the blow, only Shepard darts past her. Her movements are wrong but familiar, like he's seen the way she running before. Even the way she is crouching on the mess table with her shoulders hunched and head bent.

They freeze as she does; her eyes still on EDI.

"Put the ship in lock down," Garrus orders EDI. She does so without question and the room flashes red. Shepard leans back on her feet and they ready themselves for her to run again, but her hand darts to her mouth. It's with a twist of his stomach he realizes she has been crouching over the small silver tray.

She just swallowed the spider's body.

"Why the hell did she-" Kaidan starts as Shepard flips backwards off the table and Garrus finally places her movements.

A _phantom_.

"Shit!" He growls advancing on the retreating commander's body. "She's being _controlled_!" _How_ she's being controlled is not important to him at the moment. He just knew without a doubt he's right and that there is no way he's letting her leave this ship.

"What!" Kaidan hesitates as Garrus and Javik close in on her. "EDI scan-"

"I'm being jammed; more proactively than before." There is a slight inflection in her voice. "My systems are being overridden. I have achieved a firewall but I am unable to erect it in the vicinity of Shepard, ten feet in diameter. She is a blind spot in my system."

Shepard is now standing with her back to the doors to life support. The red lock flashed green and the doors open, allowing her to dart in.

"Halt!" Javik yells as he sends a blast of biotics at her. It hits her square in the back and sends her stumbling to the ground. Garrus advances with a curse, pulling her to her feet and pressing her against the glass window with her hands locked behind her back. He knows from experience how much pressure she can handle in _this _position and bitterly forces himself to add more.

"Be careful!" Alenko hisses.

"I know!" Garrus yells back and makes the mistake of letting his eyes flicker to the major. Pain erupts in his face and he falters from the blow. _No wonder she can head-butt a krogan; that is steel in there! _A reinforce skull is another thing he can add to Shepard's 'upgraded body parts' list. He tightens his grip as she tries to twist free. Her head slams forward this time; shattering the glass in front of her and Garrus scrambles to pull them from the shower of glass. Shepard quickly brings her feet up and kicks off the bottom metal wall, knocking him off balance and sending them falling back. He lands hard and she finally yanks free of his hold.

Alenko throws his hand up, laced with blue biotic, and it causes Javik to lower his as a double blast would do more harm than good. Only Alenko hesitates. And that's all the red-eyed Shepard needs to jump into the maintenance shaft.

Garrus almost finds it funny how not an hour ago he was angry with the man for daring to try to hurt her, and now he was furious at him for doing the opposite and letting her get away.

The shaft is too small for them to quickly follow, as Shepard is far more nimble and quick.

"Head her off!" Garrus orders as they rush from the room. "EDI is there any way to slow her down?" He knows the AI can't stop her, not with how things have gone so far.

"I shall try. It appears she is heading up to her cabin." EDI, Javik, Kaiden and Garrus pack into the elevator. Garrus notices Jokers is absent as the door close and he feels his first flicker of worry at Chakwas' state, but pushes it away as they head up.

Why her room? The weapons are stored on the fifth floor. Why go up? Why not head down and arm-

_Spirits._

"EDI, scan for any ships loitering near us and undock us now."

"Scanning." It is just her ship speakers responding. "I have initiated undocking protocols. It will take-"

"Do it now!" He stares at her platform. "Rip us from the bay if you have to."

"I cannot. Doing so will tear the hull as long as the magnetic clamps are in place. They will disengage in eight minutes. I have also picked up several sky cars with irregular movements."

Garrus shifts on his feet. "Close the shutter to Shepard's skylight."

"Done. I have short circuited the shutters motors." _Good girl_. "The captain's cabin has now gone dark. Shepard is in the room."

The doors open and they enter with caution. The room is darker then he's use too. Clothes, both Shepard and his, are scattered around the room. Garrus hangs back with EDI as Javik and Kaidan advance into the room, biotics ready.

Shepard is standing on her bed. Eyes glowing red as she stares up at the now closed the shutter. There is a thud on the ceiling and EDI frowns. "Cerberus troops are now above us." Then she adds. "Five minutes remaining."

Kaidan curses. "_Cerberus? _Didn't we _just_ deal with them?"

"They are like a plague," Javik agrees, "One that we must cure the commander of."

Shepard looks at them with her impassive face and crouches into a fighting stance. There are more thuds from above.

"They are setting charges. Four minutes remaining."

Shepard leaps at Alenko, who drops his biotic field in favor of grappling with her. They fall onto the floor and begin to roll as Kaidan tries to pin her. Shepard goes slack as Kaidan ends up on top and she ducks her face against his armed chest.

_A shield. _

"Three." An explosion rocks the room as the shutters tear open and Garrus drops to the ground to protect himself, with EDI bending as well to protect his unarmored body. Javik and Kaidan both throw up their shields.

"Two."

Garrus can't see past the thick smoke but he can hear Kaidan cry out in pain and the heavy foot falls of the troops as they pour into the room. One Cerberus shock troop emerges from the smoke and aims at Garrus. Like lighting Garrus strikes; sidestepping the man and knocking the gun from him. He kicks the weapon to EDI as he reaches out and snaps the troopers neck easily, even with the man's heavy armor. The sound of gunfire and biotics are deafening the room and Garrus takes out another trooper and keeps this gun for himself.

"One- canceling." Garrus feels his heart stop as he blindly rushes through the smoke. A bullet grazes his shoulder and he fights the urge to fire back in that direction; not knowing who all is in that area. "Shepard has left the ship."

_No. _

"Cerberus vessels are in full retreat."

_No._

"With Shepard aboard."

* * *

Is she… dreaming?

Her body is rocking. Swaying gently as the familiar hum of the Kodiak cradles her. The air is hard and stale, with the same recycled taste that the solider in her has grown used to. The seat is oddly hard under her rear and the seatbelt is digging into her chest; both things she shouldn't feel through her armor. So this has to be some odd dream right?

Only she's not wearing any armor.

That's the lightning bolt that jars her mind awake. After all, when has she ever been in the Kodiak without her armor? Even in her dreams? Other things hit her at once; the engines are too loud, her head is aching from the meds Chakwas gave her, she's still in her pajamas, her eyes are open….

That last bit is the hardest to process. _She_ didn't open them. They were already stretched wide apart; blinking only as needed. She's starting at the window in front of her and realizes she's in a skycar as the bright gleam of the Citadel shimmers back at her. Everything has a red tint that brings her back to her dreaming idea, but the pounding in her head is very real.

_What? Why I'm I here? Are they moving me to a hospital?_ That though would be reasonable if she was strapped down on a stretcher for transport, not sitting up looking out a window.

"Garrus?" She calls but her mouth refuses to move. It must be taking the medicine longer than she thought to wear off. Shepard tries again ("Garrus?") and is met with the same lack of response. There is no resistance or barriers she can feel stopping her. Her mouth just refuses to work. Turning her head is impossible. She tries to clench her eyes shut in frustration -not fear or panic as it is way too soon for that, she reasons- only to find her lids refuse her will as well.

_No, don't panic. _At least her heart is still hers; even if it's quickening shows she is indeed panicking. _Am I-? _No. That option isn't right. She is still moving. Her body is holding itself up. She can still _feel_ her body. It's just in the middle of some strange mutiny.

("_Garrus?_") She tries again with the same results. Hell that even sounded frantic _in_ her head. Her breathing is increasing with her heart rate but her mouth refuses to take the deep breathes needed to fill her lungs. The feeling of suffocation only riles her up more.

The skycar hits a patch of light as it turns and, for a brief second, she can see a reflection. Her heart skips a beat as she takes in the armored form of Cerberus agents; all sitting next to her like she wasn't enemy number one in their book.

"Heart rate has spiked," a near monotone voice behind her says. "Brain activity high; she's awake."

A voice to her side, the driver, answers back with a similar lack of interest. "Breathing's erratic. Calm her down."

Shepard can hear movement and sharp prick on her arms follows. Her heartbeat slows and breathing becomes easier.

The first voice returns. "Vitals are within acceptable parameters. Is control still being maintained?"

Shepard lifts her hands experimentally and turns them in the red light of the car. She gives a hard nod in response.

"Good."

Now_ seems like a good time to panic. _

And she does.

* * *

Next Chapter!

So They Spun Lacy Webs


	4. So They Spun Lacy Webs

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Bioware

**Beta Reader: **Marie-Fanwriter

* * *

Chapter Four

So They Spun Lacy Webs

Garrus slammed his fist into the nearest surface as a weight in his gut rocketed up into his throat. For a moment he couldn't breathe past the foul rock as acid ate away his insides. He had though he was use failing at this point in his life, with so many examples ready on the tip of his tongue at all times. But _this_… he has never failed her before. He had always been willing to attest it to Shepard and her own skill at commanding those around her. But he knew that he works harder when she is near. He lets himself think on the bright side without his self-depravation taking over.

She is the color in a life full of black and white that mixes into a muddled grey. The reason he is still alive, both in body and spirit, and failing her was never an option.

The fish tank is splintered where his blow connected; the fractures snaking across the smooth glass and crackling in his ear. The fish inside hover curiously around his hand. The long eel pushes its way between the fish, scattering them before they congregate near him again and wait. They know him. They know his presence mean that they will be fed and not forgotten. And even though the VI now replaces him the fish still gaze expectantly at him.

Garrus Vakarian; reliable, trustworthy, and dependable to the point even the damn fish know it.

So, no, failing _is_ not an option.

He pulls away from the tank and turn just as Alenko yells, "We have to go after them!" He stumbles on the cowl of Garrus' armor as he tries to walk. The sight of the armor piece somehow serves to rile the man up more as his eyes flash with his biotic and he kicks it across the room. It lands near Javik.

"We first need a plan," Javik says as he toes the cowl away from him.

"We _need_ to go now," Alenko is heading for the door but stops as Javik addresses him.

"Regrouping and calling for the aid of the asari-"

Alenko's brow furrows as Javik speaks and he holds up a hand, "I don't know who, or what, you are. But we're wasting time-"

"His name is Javik." Garrus picks up his cowl and places it on the bed with the other pieces of his armor he has already picked up. "And he's a prothean."

To Kaidan's credit he only rolls his eyes and mutters, "Of course. _Why not_?"

Garrus goes on, "And I believe you've already been acquainted with EDI's body? She was going by the name Dr. Eva last you met, I heard." Kaidan flared with anger but his full attention was now on Garrus. "You're both right; we need a plan and we're wasting time bickering."

"I have recalled the crew from shore leave," EDI informs him and Garrus nods.

"I'm guessing you lost track of the car? Same inference? " He goes on as EDI nods. "EDI, I want you to contact-"

Kaidan cuts him off. "No offense, Garrus, but this is an Alliance ship and-"

"_And_ with Shepard gone you're in charge?" Garrus finished. "Fine by me." Honestly, he does mean it. He isn't trying to take command while Shepard is gone. And Alenko is higher ranking than her (how the hell that happened will forever elude him, even though Shepard herself had said it was well earned).

To this, Javik snorts. "At least the turian knows the crew; their strengths and weakness. Do you believe you will fare better than him? Is now really the time to test it?"

The major's head is high as he meets their eyes with a cooler temper than before and says, "_And_ if word gets out that Shepard is missing, and that someone from the turian military is now the de facto captain, how long do you think it would be before the Alliance charges in? Last thing we need is their _red tape_ stopping us from going after Cerberus and getting Shepard back."

Garrus nods as his own temper cools a bit at the memory of him and Kaidan arguing the merits of the rules and regulations of both C-Sec and the Alliance back on the SR-1. It was easy for him to forget that not all of his encounters with the major have been unpleasant. And there was once a time when he trusted the man just as much as Shepard; maybe more with his friendly nature and Shepard's original aloofness.

It's that old trust he is relying on as he asks, "So what's your plan?"

"Javik's right," he says the man's name slowly as he works out the foreign sound, "I don't know the crew. But you do. Whatever _you_ have planned we need to keep it quiet."

Garrus nodded. "Understood. EDI, is Liara onboard yet?"

"Not yet," she chimes.

"Tell her to meet us in her room when she gets here. I'll meet you all there."

They leave and Garrus rounds up his armor while speaking to EDI. "I need a maintenance crew up here ASAP to fix this hole. This may turn into a chase."

"Very well."

"And clear out these bodies." He rolls a trooper off of one of his greaves.

Garrus fishes out a clean under-suit and pulls it on. The graze on his arm is no deeper than his plating, so he doesn't bother to treat it as he pulls his armor over it. The blue light of his visor draws his attention and he stares at it sitting peacefully on the counter.

In this square of his vision everything looks normal. The stacks of paper and pads on Shepard's desk, and her always lit terminal, are the same as she left it this morning.

"Staring will only get you into trouble."

_Her voice surprises him and breaks him from his thoughts._

"_Don't flatter yourself. I was thinking," Garrus says as he walks farther into the room. _

_Shepard leans back in her chair, angling her head to watch him. He stops behind her and looks down. The light of the terminal is washing across her skin and filling her wide eyes as she gazes up at him. The ever present urge to touch her is there, making him pull free one hand from his glove and he graze a finger along the smooth skin of her cheek._

"_Too bad." She sighs as rubs her face lightly against his palm, sending little jolts of pleasure through him. "Since I believe you said trouble's my middle name." _

_He came to check on her. Having watched Thane pass away only hours ago could not be good for her already overworked self. But it looks like she wants a distraction, so he'll give her one. _

"_I take it back; I was staring." Garrus runs his other hand down the length of her neck and she shivers. "You're too beautiful not to." He knows that that comment is to bold, with how she swallows and her eyes widen a fraction, but he's not sure how much longer he can keep holding himself back from her. _

_Her lips twitch into a light smile as she pulls the hand cupping her face closer and gently bites down on the tip of his finger. The surge of electricity through him makes him shiver this time._

"_Beautiful, huh?" Shepard stands and moves graceful to him, closing the distance between them with a press of her body. "Did I ever tell you it wasn't the scars that drove me wild?" Her fingers trace his jaw. "It's that handsome mug of yours." She cups his face a slowly kisses him, stealing his breath and clouding his mind. "Can't go a day without it."_

* * *

Panicking turns out to be impossible. For one, the new drug in her system is doing a kickass job at keeping her heart rate normal. And, normally, when she loses her composure it ends with a shootout, which is currently unavailable.

_So_, she thinks as her eyes stare forward, aware that her view will not be changing anytime soon, _How'd they manage this? Bet they just flip some damn switch. No control-chip my ass, Miranda. _

Last clear thing she remembers is talking to Garrus and Karin in the med-bay and the torn look in Garrus' eyes. Shepard finds she really misses having control of her body; because mentally acting things out is making her feel a bit crazy. But she still gasps in her head. _Oh, no. Garrus, Karin. If I woke up near them… Garrus would never just let me walk of the ship like this. Karin would have tried to stop me at the med-bay. _

She tries not to think about it, but thinking is all she can do.

_Did… I hurt them? They might be dead. Because of me. They might be dead. _These thoughts loop in her head to the point that she's sure they're true. That Garrus and Karin are bleeding out somewhere because of her. Or even dead on the med-bay floor.

The sky car finally slows and drifts into a parking complex. The change in light is welcomed as her eyes adjust to the mellow lighting. The car hovers to a stop and powers down as the doors lift open. A gust of cool air hits Shepard and ruffles her hair. Goosebumps rush across her exposed skin and her body shivers. The others in the car shuffle out but she remains seated.

_Whoever has the controls is awfully boring. They have their own 'Commander Shepard' drone and the most they come up with is 'stare out window'? I guess it's a good thing, though. _

More footsteps are added to the three from the car and Shepard can distinguish ten sets altogether. All but one is moving with the same programed footfalls and she knows that one will be the person in charge, since they are free of reaper tec.

"How are her vitals?" The voice is slightly excited, and male, she notes. There is no verbal answer but she hears some movement. "Good, good." There is more movement, closer to her this time. Her head is pushed back and a light is shone into her eyes. "How are visuals?" A blob behind the light nods. "Good. Audio on your end? Good." The light is clicked off as the man steps away. Her head turns and follows his movement. It's a Cerberus doctor in a lab coat. Nothing notable about his features, but Shepard still commits his face to memory.

He has his finger pressed to his comm as he talks. "Remember; don't exert her body too hard. Just because you can't feel a hit doesn't mean you're not injured. Keep an eye on the read outs."

The man reaches out and tilts her head up. "Have you tried voice controls?" His hand pulls away and her mouth and tongue flop a few useless times. "Hmm, not enough implants networked in her cords. Alright, figured as much." He motions over to a trooper who sits two large cases at his feet. "You're clear to go." The man backs up and Shepard slides out the car. The ground is cold as her bare feet touch it and breeze is flowing through the complex.

It's… strange.

The foreign way her body is moving and the complete lack of control she has. Her body reaches down and opens one of the cases. Inside is her standard N7 armor and black body suit.

_Well, they don't plan on me laying low. _That though blazes through her. With her body they can go anywhere they want.

Anywhere.

Not for the first time being, arguably, the most well know being in the galaxy is not a good thing.

She strips off her tank and shorts—her body shivering with the lack of covering—and Shepard finds she wishes she had pulled on some underwear this morning. Hopefully, the bodysuit isn't too coarse against her.

It ends up fitting like a glove and is smooth against her skin. The armor slides on with ease and she notices there is no helm.

The second case has her current favorite weapons in it. The M-98 Widow makes her stomach clench as her body picks it up with ease. Whoever has control of her body is no stranger to the beast of a gun. Shepard knows that soon someone innocent will be dead from her hands. A Particle rifle and M-6 Carnifex are picked up with the same familiarity and attached to her armor. Unexpectedly, there is a fourth weapon sitting in the case.

A Cain.

It too is attached to Shepard's armor.

She stands and she can feel her shoulder ach with discomfort and the urge to roll the joint is strong. Only her host can't feel it and Shepard is left to suffer the ach as she nods her readiness.

From the group of Cerberus agents two of them step forward; both dressed in Alliance gear. One is broad, built like a mini tank, and the other is thin, with tight muscles and a spring in his step.

She wants to laugh at the clear imitations of Kaidan and James. As long as they keep their helms on, she knows, people will buy it.

Her host heads to a new skycar and 'Vega' takes the wheel while 'Alenko' slips into the back and she sits shot-gun. The car takes off and hovers into the glaring light of the Citadel, heading towards the Presidium.


	5. Up the Spout

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Bioware.

**Beta Reader: **Marie-Fanwriter

* * *

Chapter Five

Up the Spout

"This is quite distressing," Liara's voice washes over Garrus as he enters her room. Her soft blue eyes meet his hard ones and he can a see crack in her Shadow Broker mask. And while she may look like the steely faced asari that has haunted the _Normandy_'s halls to the others present, Garrus can see the scared girl pleading for rescue staring back from between the growing fissures. But Garrus ignores the look. Liara found Shepard once and, with any luck, she can do so a second time. It wouldn't due to doubt her right now.

Javik, Kaidan, James, and EDI's platform are all present and Garrus hopes Liara is fully caught up by this point.

"Yes," he says, "It is." He had been thinking over what to do once they actually get a hold of Shepard and he knows that they will need Miranda, she knows the most about Shepard's implants besides the actual doctors who did the procedures. "I need you to locate an ex-Cerberus agent named Miranda Lawson. She has been laying low but has contacted Shepard in person a few times on the Citadel, so she may still be close by. She was the head of Project Lazarus and should know how the hell Cerberus is doing this to Shepard."

"I will find her," Liara assures as she sits in her chair. "I also may be able to track Shepard, it sounds like they are mostly concerned with keeping EDI from pursuing. With their extensive knowledge of her systems it is understandable that they would be able to jam her." The muscles in her jaw flex. "They do not know me." A strange calmness is now oozing from her and she says, not a minute later, "I have the access to C-Sec's security system, but I'm not sure how long I will remain undetected. We have a few hours at best."

"If you allow me," EDI says as she quickly steps forward. "I can do a visual search for the vehicle she was taken in the surveillance videos from the last hour and for its current location."

Liara nods as she gives EDI access to her network through her omni-tool.

Garrus tries his best not to rush them, as things are going faster than he had originally expected, but still it wasn't fast enough. He needs Shepard safe in his arms again. He needs her home.

The wall of monitors flicker with image after image for a few minutes until one stays on the screen in front of Liara and EDI speaks with a slight waver to her voice.

"I have found something."

On the screen is a parking complex. For a moment there is nothing notable until a hover car lands and a group of Cerberus agent cluster quickly around it from the shadows. The camera is angled so that he can see the front of the car and inside through the windshield. Three agents pile out of the car and Garrus can barely see the discolored legs of someone sitting calmly inside.

_Shepard. _

One person in the group is dressed differently, in a lab coat not armor, and Liara quickly zooms in and takes a snapshot of the man before zooming out. On another screen she runs his facial profile and she lets out a small gasp.

"What?" Garrus asks, a bit harsher than he means to, but Liara doesn't seem to notice or care about his tone.

"That's Armistan Banes."

"Banes?" Kaidan frowns and says slowly, "Isn't he dead?"

"It appears not," Javik says cynically as his eyes narrow at the image of the doctor.

"Who's he?" James asks looking around and Kaidan answers.

"He's a scientist we thought Cerberus killed years ago. Things never added up about his death, but I guess this answers it."

Banes leans down into the car and Garrus sees his mouth move. "Is there audio?" he asks as he tries to make out what he's saying.

"Negative," EDI responses with her ship's speakers. "But I can match a speech pattern with visual lip movement."

"Remember; don't exert her body too hard," EDI says in time with the doctor. "Just because you can't feel a hit doesn't mean you're not injured. Keep an eye on the read outs." He reaches into the car and Garrus bristles, knowing that he must be touching her. His head turns and he says something else they miss from the angle.

Banes motions with a wave of his hand to a trooper nearby and the man brings two large cases over and sits them by the car. The doctor nods and backs up, letting Shepard slide out the car. Liara and James both make shocked noises at the sight of Shepard's discolored skin. She reaches for the cases and pops them open.

"That's not good," James' voice is grim and Garrus can only nod in agreement as the first case holds what looks like an exact copy of Shepard's N7 armor. Then, methodically, she pulls off her tanks and shorts.

A low growl hums in the back of his throat seeing his lover standing nude, surround by strangers. Thankfully, the moment is short lived as Shepard pulls on her bodysuit then armor. The second case hold copies her current weapons; the M-98 Widow, a Particle rifle, an M-6 Carnifex and, surprisingly, a Cain. Two Cerberus agents, dressed in Alliance armor, step forward and pack into the sky car and Shepard joins them.

"Yo, Major, I think that's supposed to be us," Vega snorts, slightly amused.

Kaidan is less amused. "I see."

The image flickers to a still of another parking complex and EDI says, "The current location of the vehicle is the Councilor tower."

* * *

Dread fills Shepard's chest as her host enters the main lobby of the tower. The place is packed with people of all species as they rush about, trying to piece together what they can after the attempted Cerberus coup. There is a sense of panic about the people here. The Citadel was supposed to be the one safe place in the galaxy. A place untouched by the fires the Reapers have been burning down their homes with. The one place where they can sleep, not easily, but still sleep.

And Cerberus had broken that illusion. Maybe, if this wasn't happening, if they didn't have control of her body, Shepard would have thanked them in the back of her mind for finally knocking some sense into everyone. But it _is_ happening and all Shepard can do is hope for something, pray for something, to stop her.

C-Sec is here in force, guarding the three remaining councilors, and at first they hold up a hand to stop her, until they see her face.

"Commander," a middle aged female human officer looks both surprised and pleased to see her. Her eyes linger on her face and Shepard wonders what does she look like, but once the bio scan is completed the women is only happy to see her. She doesn't bother to scan the two behind her. "We didn't know to expect you. Head right on up, the Councilors are meeting in Chambers, last I heard. I'll radio the guards to expect you."

Shepard nods and heads past without pause, they don't even make a move to take her weapons or her companions'. It's sickening how easy it is.

People greet her as she past and she inclines her head in response. Her dread only increases with each smile that flashes her way as she walks. At the looks of both respect and awe. She can't help but feel like a monster for what's about to happen. She knows, deep down she knows, but she wants to believe Cerberus is better than _this_. That the Illusive man is better than this; because even if he isn't good that doesn't mean he will… that he will… after everything he's done to save so many lives, how can he do this now?

How can he do this?

Someone has to stop her. She will rather die than live as a puppet. She has spent her whole life protecting people. She has given everything for the causes she believes in and in the fight against the Reapers. She has never had a constant home, always living ship to ship. Never had a constant relationship because the reg's never allowed it and she never allowed it. But it was worth it; because she was doing something she loved and was making the galaxy a better place. And that was a step towards make Earth a better place; for giving another little orphan girl a chance to be more than a street thug. To be more than her.

_Where's an assassin when you need one? Every other time I step foot off the _Normandy_ I have some merc out for my hide, but not today? _

Someone _has _to stop her, but no one does.

Once past the main lobby she stops and stands still for a moment. Maybe they are checking which way to go? It's possible, as soon she's walking with purpose again and rounds the corner to an elevator. She and her team wait patiently with an asari and human. The human male is the first to realize who she is and excitedly nudges the asari next to him. They whisper quietly to each other, both stealing glances at her and the two men behind her. The man is plainly more excited and the asari rolls her eyes at something he says and his face flushes. The asari smiles sweetly and affectionately pats his cheek.

Her host, for some reason, looks at the asari's hand then at the humans. Rings. They are wearing matching rings. Exchanging wedding rings is a human custom, something that the other races only do when married to one. Shepard looks away as the elevator opens and she walks in. The married couple both hesitates before joining them. The ride up is quiet, with the guy clearly trying to think of something to say to her. 'Vega' and 'Alenko' are both hulking forms at the back of the elevator and the couple shift nervously at the atmosphere in the elcor sized elevator. It is as the door opens on the Councilor Chambers floor that the asari takes pity on her husband and calls out to Shepard.

"Hello, I know you may get this a lot but my family, my daughter and husband, really adore—I mean respect you and all the work you've done."

Shepard stops just outside the lift and turns to face her. The doors start to close but the asari reaches out to stop them.

"And if you don't mind could we get your—" the woman stops, midsentence, her hand out stretched in the air, inches from the closing doors, and a bullet hole in the center of her chest. The doors close as the stunned human catches her crumbling body. The elevator doors cut off his frantic cry.

Shepard turns to see her two teammates have also pulled out their guns and she faces a shocked lobby. She hit her omni-tool, and the screen tells her that the elevators are jammed from this floor. As there are no stairs, the floor is effectively sealed for the moment.

The guards standing near this floor's check point look confused and seemed to be waiting for her to speak. To explain why she just shot someone on an elevator because there has to be a reason, as she's Commander Shepard and she _always_ has a good reason. Their hesitation will be the death of them.

_Somebody stop me, please. _

Shepard hits her omni-tool again and for a second she hears the static of her comm before; "I'm Commander Shepard," echoes throughout the room and she starts shooting.

* * *

"But that's not all," EDI says as the screen returns to Banes. Shepard's skycar just left and the doctor is still talking on his comm.

"The fail safe as been activated and you have six hours. Make sure to position her body where she can be easily found. And don't lose sight of the objective, Leng," Banes says exasperatedly, "We need at least _one_ alive. Preferably the turian."


End file.
